economy. the washington post writes that the white house is ratcheting up pressure to avoid the fiscal cliff. on c-span tonight, we will bring you some of the house and senate debate from august of 2011, when congress passed the budget control act that triggered cuts to take effect on january 1. we will also hear from president obama, who signed the deficit reduction measure into law, part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling. first, senate majority leader harry reid and republican majority leader mitch mcconnell will talk on the senate floor about the january fiscal deadline. >> since our country voted to return president obama to the white house, i have spoken often about compromise. i remain optimistic that, when it comes to our economy, when it comes to protecting middle-class families from a whopping tax hike, republicans and democrats will be able to find common ground. president dwight eisenhower, a republican, once said, "people talk about the middle of the road as though it were unac